Out of the Darkness: Dark Side of Dimensions
by YugiTheKing
Summary: Atem has laid down his sword and been laid to rest but Kaiba can't let go. As he fights a losing battle with his inner demons, it's up to Yugi to save his rival and pull him into the light. [Dark Side of Dimensions Rewrite Yugi/Kaiba Atem/Kaiba Atem/Yugi]
1. Chapter 1

Out of the Darkness/Dark Side of Dimensions

Prologue

He had not slept well in the last few weeks. The dark circles under his eyes were permanently tattooed onto his face, and the shadows in his eyes could not be dispelled with his usual passion. His sleep was an endless cycle of restless nightmares, a mental state teetering on collapse like a shaking house of cards.

The person whose footsteps had marked out his path to success for him was gone now. The person who had become the center of his obsession as well as the rock on which he rested, was gone. No matter how confusing life became, he needed only to think of this person to focus his mind and push through the obstacles in his way. No matter how alone he felt, he needed only to face this person to see the same pride and burning desire to win reflected in his eyes, as well as the same crippling fear of failure that nipped at their heels like hellhounds. That person was gone, and he was alone now. in his place was a foreigner whose mind he did not know and whose methods he was unprepared against. In his place was someone who shined like the sun and smiled with its warmth and seemed to carry no demons inside his heart. He had never been fully aware of his dependency on that person, but now it was painfully obvious.

It was like he himself had died. Without that person to reflect his soul, he traversed through life like a ghost without feet to rest on solid ground. He spoke little, ate little, and slept even less. Gradually he dwindled, trapped in a spiral of despair he could not escape from or fully understand. He was painfully, painfully alone.

His brother tried to talk to him, tried to help him sleep, but nothing worked. When he caught himself almost taking a near-fatal dose of sleeping pills out of desperation, he stopped. He flushed the pills down the toilet, and turned on the light.

The small part of himself that still carried a glimmer of life within it (he suspected it was his conscience) began to imagine what the others would say if they saw him out. What his brother would say. What the other person would say.

He had no choice, he growled aloud. He would have no peace otherwise if this terrible dread didn't stop devouring him from the inside out. He turned on the computer, and he began to work.

He was too important to follow that person to the other side. There were a lot of people relying on him. So the only solution would be to drag the other person back.

* * *

Chapter 1

"Yugi, you're going to be late!" Solomon called up the stairs. He waited for a reply but nothing came. After a bit longer, he sighed and trudged up the stairs before turning to the small bathroom.

Sure enough, there was Yugi staring in confusion at his own reflection while his hands constantly fiddled with his bangs. He was the same height as Atem now, and his voice and appearance had also followed suit.

"Sorry Grandpa, I'll be right there." Yugi shot Solomon a sideways glance and Solomon's heart jumped in shock. Yugi's hand dropped and his bangs fell back down his face. Yugi gave him a bittersweet smile.

"I really look like him now, huh?" Yugi asked. Solomon shook his head.

"When we knew him, he was using your body," Solomon replied. "You're still my Yugi." Yugi smiled at that and checked his phone. He gasped.

"Now I will be late," he muttered before barreling past his grandpa and running out the door. Solomon ran after him but before he could say anything Yugi was gone. He sighed.

"He'll probably run into Téa on the way..."

Yugi let his mind go blank as his feet went on autopilot. He joined the crowds of people heading off to work and school and relaxed. Despite his dramatic hair and celebrity status, no one paid him any mind. He rounded the corner and saw into Téa waiting up ahead on some steps. Yugi cleared his throat and slowed his steps.

"Téa," he announced.

Téa looked over at him and faltered. "Good morning Yugi," she replied.

He smirked and dropped his head down. "Are you sure about that?"

Téa stared at him in confusion. A second later Yugi burst into laughter and Téa let out a squawk of indignation.

"Yugi! You do this all this time!"

"Sorry Téa!" Yugi giggled. Téa huffed with embarrassment. "Let's hurry." The two of them sped off to class.

When they got there, Joey and Tristan were waiting at the gate. Joey sported a fresh bruise on his knee and bike had a few new scratches. Yugi marched up to them and slapped Joey on the back.

"What happened to you Joey?" Téa asked.

Joey shrugged. "I fell off my bike."

"What took you so long?" Tristan asked.

"Getting used to being alive takes a while, you know." Joey and Tristan both jumped and then pounced on Yugi. Tristan pulled Yugi back while Joey ruffled Yugi's bangs.

"We know it's you Yugi!" Joey shouted in mock anger. Yugi fell into helpless laughter as his friends retaliated by tickling him.

"No more, no more!" Yugi squirmed out if their reach and raced up ahead. He was still laughing joyously when he broke through the mob of girls in front of Ryou and pulled him to safety.

"Thanks Yugi!"

"No problem Ryou!" Yugi didn't bother trying to prank Ryou. There was an unspoken agreement between them, and Yugi suspected Ryou had privately sworn to never pretend the spirit of the Millennium Ring was back. Like Yugi, Ryou's face had changed as he grew older to more resemble his darker half but his eyes were clear and innocent unlike the spirit's malevolent orbs. As they headed into class, Yugi wondered if Ryou also stared at himself in the mirror, thinking about what they had lost.

* * *

The bell rang signaling it was time for lunch, so Yugi and his friends filed out of the classroom behind their classmates and headed up to the roof as usual.

"How have your college applications been going Téa?" Yugi asked.

Téa sighed. "It's a lot of work for each one. All the schools want personalized essays. And I'm still studying English."

"You have the best English grades in our school, you'll be fine." Tristan took a drink from his water bottle before he continued. "At least you'll probably get a scholarship. I won't be able to afford college at this rate."

"Tristan..." Yugi started but Tristan held his hand up.

"I said I'll think about it, but I don't want to take your money Yugi. You could use it to go to college too." Tristan sighed. "I guess I'm stuck with my old man's business after all."

"I just want to help with the game shop, and learn more about games. One day I want to make my own," Yugi said quietly. "One that can bring people together the way Duel Monsters has."

His friends all grinned at that. "We know you can do it," Joey replied. "Even if I wish you'd still become a pro duelist with me."

Yugi shook his head. "I already have the King of Games title. I'll have plenty of chances to duel anyway when I have to defend my title from Kaiba. Speaking of which, did Kaiba-kun come to school today?" Yugi asked.

Joey scratched his head. "He hasn't been here for a few days now."

Yugi sighed. "I called him yesterday but he didn't answer."

"Try calling Mokuba," Téa suggested.

"I'll try calling Kaiba again first," Yugi pulled out his cell phone. A few seconds later, KaibaCorp's dramatic Duel Disk jingle came on and Yugi's friends laughed.

Yugi heard a click. "Yugi," Kaiba's voice was coarse and unused like a rusty door.

"Kaiba-kun! Are you sick? You've missed almost a week of classes now; do you want to borrow my notes?"

"No," Kaiba replied tersely.

"Oh," Yugi said. "Have you been sick the last few days? Should we come visit you?"

"No."

"Ok…are you going to make up your classwork?"

"No. I don't care about school."

Yugi's eyes narrowed. "Kaiba-kun, you have to finish school to stay as Mokuba's guardian. What are you doing that's so-"

"Yugi," and his name was said with such disgust that Yugi paused. "Don't be deluded into thinking you have any right to tell me what to do. As far as I'm concerned, you're a 'nobody.' Don't call me again." Then he hung up.

Yugi lowered the phone from his ear, forehead furrowed in confusion.

"Yugi? What did he say?" Joey asked. Yugi didn't reply.

He was about to dial another number when the bell rang. Students began to file back inside. Yugi sighed.

He waved off his friends. "He's fine. I'll deal with this after school."

* * *

Yugi spun his pencil absentmindedly, his eyes unfocused as the Teacher lectured on. His notebook sat untouched. Although his body sat in Domino, his mind had flown hundreds of miles away, back to Egypt…

 _There is no 'Other Yugi' anymore. You are the only Yugi in the whole world…_

 _It is a message. The dead should not linger in this world…_

 _You are the only Yugi in the whole world…_

 _Even if I never regain my memories, I want to stay with you forever…_

 _I will share all my memories with you…all of them…_

Yugi's cell phone suddenly sprang into life and the classroom was blasted with tinny rock music. His classmates laughed as Yugi jolted back to earth and turned red.

"Muto…" His teacher warned. Yugi fumbled for his phone and checked the caller. Then he stood up.

"I'm sorry Teacher, but I have to take this." Without another word he stepped outside and closed the classroom door. Joey, Tristan and Téa all looked at each other for a moment.

The teacher went back to his lecture, but now everyone was distracted. A few minutes later, Yugi walked back in with a carefully blank expression. He happened to meet eyes with Tristan, who raised his eyebrows questioningly.

Yugi's expression turned grim. Ishizu, he mouthed. Later, he added.

"What did Ishizu-san call you about?" Téa asked the second school was over.

Yugi thought for a few minutes as the four of them made their way out of the school gates. "Just…she said there were people digging up Atem's burial site. There is a chance they will find his sarcophagus and the Millennium Items."

His friends paused. No one minded mummies in the museum when you didn't know them personally, but this one they did.

"Are you ok with that?" Tristan asked.

"…No. I want him to rest. Ishizu said she had put that area under her protection to prevent such a thing from happening, but someone came in and took control of that piece of land."

"Who?" Téa asked. Yugi stopped walking.

Joey crouched down a little (less than he used to) and grabbed Yugi by his shoulders. "Yugi, let us help you. Atem was our friend too."

"I don't want anyone to know it's him," Yugi explained. "I want to stop him before he goes any further."

"Who is it?" Joey insisted.

"Kaiba-kun," Yugi mumbled.

Joey straightened up. "Kaiba? Why is he trying to dig up the past?!"

"I don't know. I need to call Mokuba." Yugi pulled out his phone once more and the four of them started walking again. Yugi waited as the phone rang once, twice. Mokuba did not pick up.

Finally, Yugi hung up. "That's strange. Mokuba always answers his phone."

"Maybe he had to go to the bathroom?" Tristan suggested.

"It's glued to his fingers," Joey shot back. "He uses it in the bathroom too. He sent me a toilet snapchat once." The other three looked at him in shock. "He really did!" Joey insisted.

Suddenly Yugi's phone vibrated, alerting him of a text. He began reading but then drew back. A flood of texts were coming in.

"Why is Mokuba texting me all this when he could have just answered my call?"

"Is he in danger?" Téa asked, but Yugi shook his head.

"He said he's fine, but -" Yugi kept reading. Joey peered over his shoulder but Yugi turned away so they left him in peace. When Yugi finished reading, he put his phone away.

"I need to do something before I head home," Yugi announced. "You three go on ahead without me."

"Yugi, where are you going?" Téa asked.

Tristan rolled his eyes. "If you're about to do something crazy, at least tell us so we know when to bail you out."

"You need someone to punch Kaiba for you?" Joey cracked his knuckles.

Yugi smiled. "Thank you, but no. Mokuba just wants me to swing by KaibaCorp for a few minutes, but he told me to come alone."

"That sounds fishy," Tristan added.

"I'll be fine. If I need help, I have my cell phone." Yugi headed off in the opposite direction, and his friends reluctantly let him go.

* * *

Isono had just stepped outside the building for some fresh air when Yugi Muto appeared in front of him. Isono lowered the cigarette he had just pulled out and greeted him.

"Muto-sama, are you here to see Kaiba-sama?" He asked.

"Good afternoon Isono-san," Yugi said politely. "Yes. Kaiba-kun asked me for help on his little project. He told me not to wait for him, and go inside first."

Isono nodded. "Of course. I'll take you in myself." He could take his break later.

Isono led Yugi inside and watched as the King of Games confidently strode in and punched the elevator button. Then he waved at excited onlookers, and Isono smiled. Even Kaibacorp employees were fans of Yugi Muto.

The two of them stepped inside once the elevator doors opened and Isono punched in the secret code. The elevator smoothly shot down into the earth, deeper and deeper. Beside him, Yugi stood unmoving.

The elevator let them out in an underground bunker. When Yugi entered, many overworked and exhausted engineers looked up at him and started shouting.

"Yugi Muto! Yugi Muto!"

"Could someone show me where it is? I'm here to help."

A woman with coffee stains on her shirt and bags under her eyes hurried forward and took Yugi away from Isono. "You are a godsend Muto-sama," she babbled. "We are all going mad over this project! No matter what we do, we can't get him to work."

"I know," Yugi smiled at her. "You can relax now." The woman's shoulders slumped with relief and she gave him a giddy smile back.

They walked past the other engineers until she got into air locked door. She deftly pulled out her key card and swiped it, before entering a password and submitting to a fingerprint and retina scan. Then the door finally opened and Yugi gasped.

The room was dark and devoid of people, because the entire floor was covered in thick cables. Some were insulated and secured in place with metal strips, while others were covered with messy tape. Yugi gingerly crept in over the cables to the center of the room, where a giant supercomputer waited. The woman began typing on the interface, and the hologram burst to life.

"This is ," the woman introduced. A young man with yellow eyes and spiky blue hair waved at Yugi, and Yugi waved back. Yugi let his eyes travel over the AI's dramatic clothing design and Egyptian-themed accessories.

"Kaiba-sama had us begin development on a dueling AI designed to help duelists improve their skills. We have spent the last few weeks developing its programming so that not only can it learn every Duel Monsters strategy ever, it is capable of coming up with its own."

"That's amazing," Yugi murmured.

"But this is not Kaiba-sama's main purpose in developing this AI," she admitted. Then she pulled up another password screen, and typed in a string of letters.

 _MynameisAtem_

Yugi watched in shock as changed from a young blue-haired youth to a young man with tanned skin, a pharaoh's garb and hair to match Yugi's. The AI opened his red eyes and Yugi looked into the face of his other half.

"This is ," the woman continued. "He has the same programming as , but for some reason he doesn't work. Anytime someone tries to start a duel with this interface, it malfunctions after a few minutes. Kaiba-sama himself has been working on this interface day and night but we don't know why it isn't working."

Yugi's eyes did not move from Atem's face. "Maybe the problem is that it is working."

"Excuse me?" She asked. Yugi smiled and grabbed her arm before steering her back out the door. It immediately slid open and Yugi pushed her through. When she turned around, the door had closed.

"Muto-sama? You can't be alone with it-" She pulled out her key card but the light flashed red instead of green.

"What-? Muto-sama? Muto-sama!" Yugi turned back to the computer. He looked up again at Atem and his eyes softened.

"Just wait, other me. I'll free you." Yugi reached down and grabbed a handful of the cables. They resisted for a few seconds, and then ripped off the ground and out from the computer with a terrible bang.

The engineers all raced to the door and frantically tried their key cards, but the door didn't open. They banged on the door and shouted in alarm as Yugi methodically destroyed their setup. They watched in horror as Yugi piled the sparking cables in a corner like a pile of discarded vines from a garden.

"Call Kaiba-sama!" The woman shouted. "Tell him Yugi Muto is destroying the AI!"

Yugi meanwhile was typing on the computer. He looked up and saw that Atem was staring down to watch what Yugi was doing. Yugi smiled and Atem fixed his stare at Yugi.

"I look like you now," Yugi said gently. "Can you tell?" Atem kept staring, but his face stayed blank.

A new screen popped up, showing two rows of five rectangles each. Yugi pulled out his deck and drew out the Dark Magician. He set it down in the first row. Atem's interface rippled.

Dark Magician appeared on every engineer's computer, startling one so bad he spilled hot coffee onto his pants. He yelped and jumped up, and then sat back down screaming in horror. The image of Dark Magician was shooting off magical blasts inside his computer, wiping out his code line by line.

"Save the backups!" He cried, and all the engineers ran to their computers to try and rescue their files. Yugi set down two more cards and Atem's image rippled again.

Chain of Destruction shot across their screens and their backups disappeared one by one. Then Dark Magician Girl appeared and joined Dark Magician in decimating their computer files and locking out the engineers. The engineers could only watch helplessly as Yugi's entire deck appeared on their screens and wiped all their files.

"If they get into the network, they'll destroy everything!" The woman shouted in alarm. Just then, the door behind them slid open and Kaiba ran in with a brown box. His gaunt and bloodless face was twisted in anger and panic.

"Kaiba-sama! He's in there!" Someone shouted and Kaiba ran towards the AI room and pulled out his key card. It beeped once, and then flashed red.

"Yugi!" Kaiba banged his fists on the door. Both Yugi and Atem looked up and turned to look at Kaiba. Yugi quietly walked across the now-pristine floor until he and Kaiba were face to face.

"Yugi! What are you doing?" Kaiba shouted.

"What are you doing?" Yugi shot back. "You are trying to bring a dead man back to life – for what? For your pride?"

"You have no right to judge me!" Kaiba screamed.

Yugi surveyed him for a moment, and then shrugged. He turned around.

"Don't you dare Yugi!" Kaiba shouted. "Don't you dare! You can't do this!"

"Gandora, Dragon of Destruction!" Yugi called out. He slapped the card down. This time, Atem disappeared and in his place was a giant black dragon with red orbs all over its bodies. It roared with fury and red beams shot out from its body in all directions. As his engineers scrambled in vain for a solution, Kaiba could only stand there speechless. Every file, every line of code destroyed felt like a knife wound in his gut.

Gandora disappeared and Atem returned. But his image was weak and transparent, unlike the life-life interface Yugi had first seen. Yugi pulled out one last card and played it. A white-haired magician formed in front of Atem. They stared at each other.

Silent Magician raised her staff and pointed it directly at Atem's heart.

"Noooooo!" Kaiba screamed.

"Silent Magician, attack!" Yugi ordered. Atem shattered like glass and the supercomputer gave a great rumble before exploding and falling apart like a pile of bricks.

Yugi stood up unharmed, coughing from the dust. With a beep, the door slid open and Yugi slowly walked out, still waving his hands from the smoke.

Kaiba's hands shot out to grab Yugi's collar but Yugi slapped his hands angrily away. Kaiba was so stunned his hands dropped to his side and did not come up again.

"Where is the puzzle?" Yugi asked.

"The…puzzle…" Kaiba muttered.

"Ishizu-san told me you've been secretly digging up Atem's grave to find the Millennium Items, and you had the nerve to conceal it from her for weeks!" Yugi angrily raised up his hand. "I know you brought it back. I want you to hand it over."

"I'm not giving it to you," Kaiba muttered. Yugi scoffed in annoyance in a way that was so like Atem, Kaiba had to resist the urge to run screaming from the room.

Yugi scanned the room until his eyes fell upon the brown box Kaiba had brought in with him. He grabbed it and ripped the packaging open. The underground bunker light reached through and hit a myriad of gold puzzle pieces. Yugi closed the box with triumph.

"I'm taking this," Yugi said.

"Like hell you are," Kaiba snarled.

"I am going to return this to Ishizu and Egypt," Yugi continued.

"You walk out of this room and I'll kill you!" Kaiba shouted.

"Ni-sama!" Mokuba raced into the room and stood in front of Kaiba. "You can't!"

"Mokuba, he destroyed my work and he's taking the puzzle! I'm going to make him pay-"

"I destroyed your AI!" Mokuba shouted. "I called Yugi and asked for his help! I helped him destroy the AI!"

"Mokuba, why?!" Kaiba groaned.

"Because you've lost your mind!" Mokuba shouted, and both Yugi and Kaiba were struck by how much Mokuba had grown. "This obsession is ruining your health, and I can't let you do this anymore! I won't let anyone hurt my brother, even if it means I have to save you from yourself!"

Kaiba reeled back as if Mokuba had physically struck him. "My own brother…" he swayed on his feet. "No one understands me…. none of you are on my side…"

"I'm your brother!" Mokuba shouted. "I'm always on your side!"

Kaiba raised one shaking finger at Yugi. "This Saturday, you and I are going to have a duel. If you win, you can keep the puzzle. But if I win, I will remake that AI and none of you are going to stop me!"

"Fine but you won't win," Yugi said confidently.

"Pray that I don't," Kaiba replied ominously. "Because you're nothing but his vessel to me. If I win, I'm going to use you to bring him back."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Kaiba spent the next few days feverishly preparing for his duel against Yugi. He holed up in his room and did not speak to anyone, even his brother. The desk lamp in his room and his computer screen were the only sources of light he saw during that time. The floor was strewn with briefcases filled with cards while his desk was covered with his new Duel Disks. He would use them on Saturday to crush Yugi, and prove once and for all his strength and his scientific ingenuity would defeat Yugi and his inherited magical legacy.

Kaiba used up all his time researching strategies; strategies to increase Kaiba's own strength and Yugi's strategies in order to find new ways to dismantle his strength. He filled his deck with anti-Dark Magician Cards and magic counter cards. Battling Yugi was a lot like battling a Magician; Yugi always seemed to have another monster up his sleeve stronger than whatever Kaiba had. He would slay Yugi's magical beasts, break Yugi's Magnet Warriors, and bury Dark Magician alive. All the while Kaiba's Blue Eyes White Dragons would be lying in wait for their master to bring them forth and lay waste to Yugi Muto.

That night, Kaiba slept like a baby. He slept deeply and did not dream, save for once before he woke up.

 _He was standing on a golden floor, overlooking the galaxy. Stars from far away dimensions dotted the black space between glowing planets._

 _"Beautiful, isn't it?" He turned around. A young man with blue spiky hair and yellow eyes materialized from thin air and approached him._

 _"Aigami," He greeted._

 _The young man gave a small bow. "Seto Kaiba," he said with a smile. "Let me ask you a question?"_

 _"Seto Kaiba, do you want to face that person again?"_

 _"Yes," he answered immediately._

 _Aigami handed him a strange golden cube. "Then take this. When the time comes, you will be able to use it."_

* * *

Téa touched Yugi on the shoulder and Yugi looked up from his deck. He put them back into the case and nodded. The four of them exited the limousine Kaiba and sent to fetch Yugi and set off in the direction of Kaibaland's arena. At the entrance, Mokuba was pensively waiting for them.

"Yugi," he said. Yugi reached over and gently ruffled Mokuba's hair.

"Don't worry Mokuba-kun, I'll bring your brother back."

"And I'll knock some sense into him if he needs it," Joey added. Téa put an arm around Mokuba's shoulders and Mokuba followed them in.

Yugi stared across the length of the arena to see Kaiba already in position on the other side. On his arm was a much smaller duel disk and on his ear was a headpiece. Isono hurried forward towards Yugi and handed him a matching duel disk and headpiece, except Yugi's lit up purple while Kaiba's lit up in his signature blue.

"Thank you," Yugi said. He took off his old duel disk and handed it to Joey before putting the new one. He carefully slotted his deck into the duel disk and secured the headpiece to his ear. Then he also took his position. His friends went up into the stands to watch.

"Yugi, I'm finally going to have my revenge on you," Kaiba announced, his voice amplified by his headpiece and broadcasted through the arena speakers.

"Why do you want revenge Kaiba-kun?" Yugi asked.

Kaiba held up two fingers casually. "You've killed Atem twice now. First when you destroyed my AI and then when you somehow beat him in a duel."

Yugi frowned, and his face was blown up on the giant arena screens. "The other me has been dead for thousands of years, Kaiba-kun. I only did what I needed to do."

"I refuse to believe that the vessel could beat the true duelist," Kaiba retorted.

"Are you saying I cheated against Atem?" Yugi asked in disbelief.

"There's no way you could have defeated him!" Kaiba insisted.

"I'm getting a sense of déjà vu from this conversation," Tristan commented. The others nodded.

"I'm sorry you weren't there Kaiba-kun," Yugi said. "But it's true. I defeated him and he departed to the afterlife. If we had time, I would have made sure you two had a chance to say goodbye."

"How could you have defeated the three Egyptian god cards? It's preposterous."

"Whether or not you believe it doesn't change that its fact, Kaiba-kun. I defeated his god cards, and then I defeated him." Yugi straightened up. "I'm just as good of a duelist as he is."

Kaiba growled. "When I defeat you, I'll expose you and your lies for good. Duel!"

"Duel!" Yugi shouted. They drew their cards.

"I will go first. I play these cards facedown and end my turn."

"I play Vengeful Sea Dragon in attack mode." With a few deft motions, Kaiba activated his card and his dragon burst forth in a rainbow holographic shower. "Attack!" Yugi's life points went down by 1200.

"My turn! Draw!" Yugi drew from his deck and studied his hand. Then he placed two cards in the spell and trap zone.

"I end my turn."

"No monsters? Then I'll get to attack directly again. But first I summon Deep Eyes Dragon and activate a magic card Saint Dragon Maiden, which allows me to special summon a dragon from my hand, so I choose Blue eyes chaos dragon." Kaiba's dragons took the field and stared down at Yugi.

Yugi activated a magic card. "I activate Emergency Peace Treaty. Because you special summoned a monster, I can call off your attack phase by giving up 1000 life points."

Kaiba smirked. "Either way your life points are decreasing. Next turn I'll summon my Blue Eyes White Dragon and then you'll be finished."

Yugi shook his head. "There will be no next turn. That was your last turn."

Everyone gasped. "You're bluffing," Kaiba shouted.

"I don't bluff," Yugi replied calmly. "It's clear now that you've made a grave error, Kaiba-kun."

Kaiba narrowed his eyes. "What are you talking about?"

Yugi sighed. "You designed your deck around summoning your Blue Eyes White Dragon and to counter Dark Magician; to cripple your opponent's strength while increasing your own. That strategy might work against the other me, but I am not Atem. I did not bring Dark Magician today."

"What? You don't have Dark Magician in your deck?" Kaiba blurted out.

Yugi shook his head. "I don't have any of Atem's monsters in my deck. Which means, Kaiba, you prepared against an imaginary opponent. Now you're woefully unprepared against me."

"And I… am a much different duelist then Other Me," Yugi finished. "I do not rely on strong monsters to finish the job. My turn! Draw!"

"Prepare yourself, Kaiba-kun, because I was not blind to who my opponent was!" Yugi shouted. "I play Name of the Enemy! By giving up half my life points I can banish a certain monster from your deck and remove it from play, and I choose your Blue Eyes White Dragon!"

The holograms sprang into life, and an army surged forward at Kaiba before dragging out his beloved dragons from his deck. The dragons cried out in agony before fading from view.

"Now I activate another magic card, Last Rites!" Lightning came down from the sky and blasted every single one of Kaiba's magic/trap cards off the field.

"By discarding a card from my hand for every card on your field, I can destroy them! Now your field is empty!" Yugi announced.

"Such underhanded tricks…" Kaiba growled. "You may have banished my dragons, but I'll get them back."

Yugi fixed him with a steady gaze. "It's strategy, Kaiba-kun. Brute force is not always the right method." He played another card.

"I also play Gift of Friendship," Yugi announced and Kaiba groaned. "We each exchange one card from our hand. And since I have only one card…"

Like salt on his wound, Yugi gleefully handed Kaiba a Kuriboh card before pulling one from Kaiba's hands. Kaiba gritted his teeth when Yugi grabbed his magic card.

Yugi returned to his spot and looked at the card he had gotten from Kaiba. "I had my own card for this, but I suppose I can use yours…"

"But first I need some more life points. By banishing four of my own monsters from my deck, I can restore my life points by 2000 points, which I will use to activate your card, Dimensional Travel! Your Blue Eyes White Dragon Cards are now in my hand!"

"And finally…" Yugi activated the last magic card on his field. The holographic card raised itself up until the card was plainly visible for all to see.

"I use Fusion on the three Blue Eyes in my hand! Go Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon – attack!"

Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon roared into being, its incredible presence filling the stadium with its oppressive aura. Kaiba stared back at his own monster in shock, and rage. Each of the three heads raised up and one by one, blasts of destructive light poured forth and hit Kaiba full-on. Defenseless, he could only raise up his arms and endure the onslaught.

The dust cleared. Kaiba's life points dropped below Yugi's. In the stands Yugi's friends waited with baited breath.

"You bastard, how dare you use my own monster against me? You're not half the duelist Atem was!" Kaiba shouted.

"Kaiba-kun…" Yugi muttered lowly.

"I refuse to accept such cowardly tactics!" Kaiba continued. "I won't accept defeat from the likes of you!"

"Ni-sama!" Mokuba cried out.

"Kaiba, you've lost your mind!" Joey shouted too.

"Kaiba-kun, today you are not dueling at your best. Your mind is clouded and it makes you weak!" Yugi argued. "As you are now, you cannot go toe to toe with me! Kaiba-kun! Release your doubts and move away from the past! Otherwise, you will never escape your darkness!"

"Shut up! Shut up! You're just the vessel! I won't recognize anyone as my rival except for Atem!"

Yugi closed his eyes. "You want Atem so bad? Fine."

The air in the arena changed. When Yugi opened his eyes, Kaiba could see Atem staring back.

"Kaiba! You do not know what forces you are meddling with. It's time I taught you a lesson!" Yugi said with Atem's voice. Everyone in the arena felt a cold shiver down their spine.

"Shadow game!" Yugi shouted. Without warning, the holograms surrounding them changed, and then arena was plunged into darkness. Kaiba took two steps back as Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon roared and took to the air. Its body glowed and split into three dragons, before all three disappeared in columns of light.

"Come forth, Slifer the Sky Dragon!" Yugi raised an empty hand to the sky and the sky opened up. A gargantuan sky serpent appeared, red scales gleaming even in the swirling darkness around them. Then Slifer's head appeared and Yugi jumped onto its back.

"Slifer, attack!" Slifer opened his mouth and Kaiba scrambled backwards and ran.

It was a nightmare he couldn't escape from. His feet wouldn't move fast enough, his breaths weren't quick enough, he was not strong enough…all the while the person with Atem's visage bore down upon him. Slifer's cries echoed in his head and thudded in his chest and Kaiba ran, or else he'd feel more than the terrifying heat of Slifer's breaths.

Kaiba threw out monster cards behind him, uncaring whether they summoned. He could not stop running. Above the din of Slifer's lightning blasts he could hear that person shout out orders and the answering cries of pain from his monsters as they were wiped out one by one. As Kaiba ran from the terrifying scene behind him his mind dredged forth the constant nightmares he had endured the last few weeks. Dreams of Atem and Gozaburo haunting him, taunting him. You are too weak, they would say. You will never be strong enough.

Kaiba tripped on his own feet and collapsed onto the ground. The swirling darkness around him seemed to be laughing at his misery. He turned onto his back and came face to face with Slifer. Kaiba winced as Slifer's hot breath rushed over his face. He was so scared he couldn't move.

He sensed he had hit a breaking point in his sanity. His body shook with exhaustion and fear and his eyes were constantly unfocused. He could feel his shields cracking under stress, and the last remains of his willpower sapped.

He would have cried out in alarm when he felt stinging liquid travel down his cheek, but his throat was too tied up to make a sound. His chest twisted and pulled in all directions, and Kaiba was utterly helpless.

 _Someone, please help me._

"Kaiba-kun," Yugi whispered. He jumped off of Slifer and started approaching Kaiba.

A single tear rolled off of Kaiba's cheek and hit the ground silently. Then another, and another. Slifer slowly drew back as Kaiba opened his eyes. His body was filled with warmth as a circle of white light appeared under him.

Kaiba was still lying spread-eagled on the ground when two white wings formed on both sides of him from the circle. Then the ground under Kaiba started moving and he was lifted into the air by a glowing white dragon.

Yugi smiled in amazement. "Blue Eyes White Dragon! She heard your heart crying out and answered."

Kaiba slid off and landed on the ground in a crouch. The two duelists watched as Slifer and Blue Eyes circled each other warily, each waiting for an opening.

Kaiba reached forward to try and steady himself to stand up until his foot hit something small and metal. He stared in confusion at the strange metal box glinting in the darkness. It seemed familiar…

 _Do you want to face that person again?_

"Kaiba…" came a familiar voice from the cube. Both Kaiba and Yugi were pulled forward unconsciously.

"That voice…" Kaiba muttered.

"Other Me…?" Yugi wondered.

"Dark Magician! ..." A voice came out from the cube again. Kaiba crawled forward a bit and then reached out his hand.

"Kaiba-kun, don't!" Yugi cried out, but it was too late. The second Kaiba's fingers touched the cube, he froze as magic tore him in two. His soul was sucked into the unknown depths of the cube and his body fell to the ground, as empty as a puppet.

Yugi threw himself down on his knees in front of Kaiba. The holograms disappeared, and the shadow world faded back into the familiar sight of the arena.

"Kaiba-kun, Kaiba-kun!" Yugi shouted.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Kaiba-kun! Kaiba-kun!" Yugi shook Kaiba by the shoulder but there was no answer. Yugi let go in horror.

Mokuba raced out of the stands with the others hot on his heels. They flew across the arena to where Yugi and Kaiba still were.

"Ni-sama!" Mokuba shouted.

"Is he still breathing?" Joey asked.

"We need to take him to the hospital," Tristan crouched down and gestured over to Kaiba.

"No," Yugi cut them off. "We need to take him there." He pointed to the side, where the cube still lay innocently on the ground. It was still open, and above it was a slowly rotating starry void; a portal to the place where Kaiba's soul had gone.

"We need to go there to retrieve Kaiba-kun's soul, and we need to take his body there."

"What? You want us to carry him the whole time? What if we get chased by monsters?"

"It'll be fine," Yugi argued. "But if we don't reunite him with his body soon..." Yugi groaned in frustration. "I told him not to touch the cube but he didn't listen!"

"What is that cube?" Mokuba asked.

"I don't know," Yugi answered. "But in the middle of our duel the Other Me's voice suddenly came out, and Kaiba grabbed it. I'm worried it's a portal to the Afterlife."

"We couldn't even see what you two were doing," Tristan said. "It looked like a shadow game!"

"That wasn't a real shadow game right Yugi? You can't call shadow games," Tea looked towards Yugi for confirmation.

Yugi sighed. "It wasn't, but it seemed like it. It's my fault. I shouldn't have scared Kaiba-kun like that. I know he's been under a lot of stress lately but I was just so angry," Yugi explained guiltily. "The fact that Kaiba-kun didn't even see me when we dueled; I have a duelist's pride too."

"Of course you do," Joey replied. "You're the King of Games. You of all people should."

Yugi nodded. "But I should have known better, instead of letting my temper get the best of me." He shook his head sadly. "I'm going to fix this," Yugi said. He crouched back down so he was face-to-face with Mokuba.

"I'll get your brother back Mokuba-kun. You can count on it," Yugi said confidently.

Mokuba smiled. "I know. You've never let us down before."

Yugi turned on the balls of his feet. "Help Kaiba-kun onto my back. We can take turns carrying him."

"Wait Yugi!" Tristan called out. "Are you sure you can carry him?"

"Of course I can," Yugi replied. "I've grown a lot."

"He's still a lot taller than you!" Joey added. But they helped maneuver Kaiba up onto Yugi's back and to everyone's surprise, Yugi easily stood up and began to walk.

"Wait for us Kaiba-kun!" Yugi said. "We're coming!"

* * *

He tried to open his eyes, but they were sealed shut. Even so, he could tell that the world around him was pitch black. The air was heavy and he struggled to breathe freely. He opened his mouth and tried to call out for help, but all he could manage was a pitiful whimper.

The soft shhhh, shhh, sound of cloth on the ground came from his left and he instinctively turned towards it. He tried to open his eyes again but to no avail. The person quietly slipped to his side and leaned down. He felt small hands grip onto his arms and shake him gently.

"Kaiba. Kaiba, wake up."

"Yugi..." Kaiba whispered.

The person paused. "I'm not Yugi."

"Of course you are," Kaiba mumbled. "Who else would you be?"

"Yugi" paused, and then laughed under his breath. "Ok, I guess I can be 'Yugi again." He reached down and grabbed Kaiba by his arms before heaving him up onto his feet. He threw one of Kaiba's arms over his shoulders and Kaiba's hand brushed warm metal on the side of "Yugi''s" head. Together they began hobbling forward.

"Try your best to walk," "Yugi" ordered. "You can lean on me."

"What are you talking about?" Kaiba mumbled. "You're so short it'll be like leaning on thin air."

"Shut up and walk." "Yugi" answered tersely.

They continued through this darkness; Kaiba alternated between consciousness and restless sleep as "Yugi" dragged Kaiba along. At some point, Kaiba fell asleep again, and woke up with a strangled yell.

"Kaiba!" "Yugi shook him roughly. "What's wrong with you? What is haunting your dreams?!"

Kaiba swore under his breath weakly. "Gozaburo...I haven't dreamt about that bastard for years..."

"Some dreams can be prophetic," "Yugi" warned. "You should pay more attention to them"

Kaiba scoffed. "I'm not like you and your crazy other half, Yugi. Dreams are just your brain making up bullshit."

"Yugi" seemed annoyed. "Why am I the crazy half?" He muttered

"You're all crazy," Kaiba muttered. "All of you...and me too."

"Kaiba," "Yugi" cut in. "Why are you here? This is the afterlife."

Kaiba stopped walking. "Finally got myself killed, did I?"

"Yugi" shook his head. "No you're not dead yet. But your soul has been separated from your body, and we must locate your body as soon as possible."

"Mokuba will be so disappointed..." Kaiba muttered glumly.

"What do you remember?"

Kaiba's head lolled with every step. It took all his willpower to stay upright and continue talking. "I remember fighting with Yugi, and... not feeling like myself. I remember being really angry," Kaiba's forehead furrowed as he spoke. "But I can't remember why."

"Yugi" hefted him up a little higher and picked up the pace. "How did you end up here, Kaiba?"

"I...I wanted to battle the Pharaoh again...I needed to...I needed to see him again." Kaiba suddenly felt himself slipping off "Yugi's" shoulders.

Kaiba was lowered onto the ground and his limbs carefully positioned. "Kaiba. Kaiba what did you do?" "Yugi" asked.

"I hired people...to dig up the Millennium Puzzle..." Kaiba slurred. "Yugi" let out a noise of frustration and Kaiba felt him leave his side. He could hear his companion pacing restlessly around him from the cape brushing the ground and his gold accessories clinking together.

"And I made an AI program...to mimic the Other Yugi...so that I would have someone to duel with..." Kaiba continued.

He felt "Yugi" kneel back down again. "Kaiba, that title was passed onto Yugi. Why would you still want to battle me when Yugi is the King of Games?"

"It feels wrong," Kaiba growls. "He's different."

"Of course he's different, he's a different person. I would have thought you'd be happy, since he is a much better duelist than you."

"The Pharaoh was my equal," Kaiba insisted. "Because when I dueled him I could see my own ambition reflected back at me, my own burning desire to win. When I dueled the Pharaoh I wasn't the only one consumed by the need for victory."

"Yugi" snorted. "You mean our inability to ever play a game for fun." Kaiba heard a thump as "Yugi" collapsed down next to him, side by side. In these few moments of quiet, Kaiba drifted peacefully in and out of consciousness.

Then he woke up again and remembered there was more to the story. "I made Yugi angry," he blurted out.

"Aibou was angry? You must have done something really bad."

"He defeated me in a duel with my Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon, and he pointed out how I was still trying to face a different opponent than him. A few days before that, he had destroyed the AI I had built to imitate - the Pharaoh. I was so mad I screamed at him, and after he defeated me I refused to accept his victory. I called him underhanded, and I said he was only the vessel."

Kaiba heard a gasp. "How dare you…?" "Yugi" growled. "Have you lost your mind?"

"I couldn't believe he defeated the Pharaoh. How could he have defeated the three Egyptian God cards?" Kaiba asked.

"But he did, and he was incredible. You told me he defeated you with your own dragons."

"In one turn he defeated me with my own dragons," Kaiba corrected. "Which is why I'm starting to believe that he was capable of defeating the Three Egyptian God Cards."

"How did you know he was angry?"

"He..." Kaiba stopped. "I..." He tried to gather his thoughts but all he could remember was his stuttering breaths, his frenzied heartbeat, and the heart-stopping fear of seeing Slifer behind him, hot breaths blowing at his heels…

He scrunched up his face and gave a low moan. "Yugi" immediately sat up and reached over for him. Kaiba felt a hand on his chest; he moved his arm and covered the hand with his own.

"Kaiba..." The hand on his chest tightened. "We need to keep moving." Then the hand moved away and Kaiba was pulled once more back onto his feet.

"Rest if you have to, but don't do it for long. I can't carry you the entire way," "Yugi" warned. Kaiba tried to nod but all he did was loll forward and slip once more into oblivion.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Yugi, Joey, Tea, Tristan, Mokuba and Kaiba slipped through the black portal of the quantum cube and stepped into a foreign world. Yugi, still carrying Kaiba on his back, peered around curiously at the world, but all was dark.

"Where are we?" Tristan asked.

"Hello!" Joey shouted but no one answered. There was nothing out there; no living things, no movement, nothing. Just a bland, unrelenting darkness.

"Where do we even start looking?" Tea asked. She and Mokuba glanced at each other for a moment. When Mokuba's head dropped sadly Tea put her hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry Mokuba, we'll find him. We just have to start walking." Yugi picked a direction and started forward confidently.

"Wait!" came a voice from behind them. Yugi stopped. Then in front of him materialized a boy with spiky blue hair. He wore gold accessories, a lavender shirt and a dark green vest.

"You're...that AI..." Yugi said. "What are you doing here?"

"I am here to lead you to where my creator's soul is," the youth said. "My name is Aigami," he said with a bow. Yugi returned the bow and Kaiba's head rolled slightly on his shoulder.

"Here, let me take him." Joey walked to Yugi's side and Yugi gratefully transferred Kaiba onto Joey.

"Thanks, Joey. We can trade off later," Yugi said before turning back to Aigami. "If you're the AI, how are you here? And where are we?"

"I can explain as we walk. We are in the Shadow Realm, the world between the living and the afterlife. It also acts as a bridge between the Duel Monsters World and your world. This is where the magic of the Millennium Items resides." Aigami and Yugi walked ahead in the front, while Joey and Tristan walked in the middle. Tea and Mokuba followed behind, the young Kaiba's eyes always glued to his unconscious brother.

"When Kaiba created my program, he did it for the sole purpose of bringing back the Pharaoh. His will was so great that he managed to forge a connection between the living world and this world, luckily falling short of truly reaching the Afterlife. But I was nevertheless instilled with magic, so after my program was destroyed..." Aigami gave a sad smile.

"I'm so sorry Aigami," Yugi murmured. "If I had known -"

"No, you did the right thing," Aigami insisted. "My creator did not know what he was doing, and if he had succeeded he would have unleashed the Shadow Games once more into the world."

"We'll try to find a way to free you from this realm Aigami," Yugi replied. "It's the least I could do."

Aigami smiled. "I have faith in you, the Chosen One. After all, you are heir to the Nameless Pharaoh's legacy."

Yugi nodded grimly. "And I will do my best. Did you say you could lead us to where Kaiba-kun's soul is?"

Aigami nodded. "But once we venture deeper into this realm, we will run into powerful monsters that mean to do us harm. Can you fight them?"

"No sweat!" Joey replied. "I've got my Red Eyes Black Dragon!"

"I have my Barbarian cards," Tristan added.

"And I have my Amazoness Warriors!" Tea continued.

"With my deck and my friends, we'll be unstoppable!" Yugi finished. "Lead on, Aigami-kun."

"I'm glad you're prepared. Otherwise, my creator's soul will perish if he's abandoned to the Shadow Realm," Aigami warned.

"We won't," Yugi said. Just then, the wind mysteriously picked up.

"They're coming," Aigami warned over the wind. "Prepare yourself."

"Dark Magician!" Yugi called out, and the sorcerer appeared in a blinding flash of light from Yugi's core. The Dark Magician had just landed on the ground when Yugi stumbled, dizzy from the exertion.

"Yugi!" Tea and Mokuba ran up to him.

"Don't summon too many monsters Chosen One," Aigami cautioned. "In this world, summoning requires your life energy. If you use it too fast or run out, your life would be in grave danger.'

"Yeah, Yugi!" Joey shouted. "Don't take all the spotlight for yourself! Flame Swordsman!" Joey's body glowed for a moment before Flame Swordsman burst out too.

Aigami nodded. "That should be good enough for now. Let's continue." Suddenly a Man-Eater Bug shot out from the darkness right at Joey, who screamed and nearly dropped Kaiba. Tristan grabbed him from behind as Flame Swordsman catapulted over his head and incapacitated the monster with a single slash.

"Yugi!" Yugi spun around as two more monsters attacked from his side. Yugi ducked as Dark Magician shot off two blasts right behind him, leaving smoking piles of ash.

"Amazoness Queen!" Tea fell over immediately after her summoning but nevertheless Amazoness Queen appeared triumphantly in front of her, between her and the monster. But even with another Duel Monster, Yugi and his friends were vastly outnumbered. Monsters appeared from the shadows every second, and they could see gleaming eyes waiting in the distance. They were surrounded.

"Can we go faster?" Joey wailed.

"We just need a good defense!" Yugi shouted back. Then he closed his eyes.

"Kuriboh! Multiply!" Like a torrent from an open dam, brown furballs exploded out of Yugi in all directions, hitting the horde of monsters surrounding them and exploding on impact. Yugi and his friends cheered with triumph before smoke filled their lungs, making them cough and obscuring their vision.

Aigami began shouting over the din. "This won't work for long. We have to run!" Then the earth began to shake, loud enough to rattle their ribcages and send shockwaves that clear the air of smoke. When it did, the Kuribohs had disappeared, and another monster army was slowly approaching. In the front of the army was an alien giant with a metallic white body and four limbs, two of which were also white. Its body was covered in purple markings while its center had a tribal mask that glowed menacingly through the darkness. From its arms protruded giant metal spikes.

"What is that?" Yugi wondered.

"Indiora the Cubic Emperor," answered Aigami. "It is the ruler of this land. If we don't escape, we will be destroyed."

"Tristan, take Kaiba off me." Joey handed Kaiba off to a confused Tristan.

"Joey, what are you doing?" Tristan asked. Joey rolled his shoulders.

"I'm gonna hold off that beast. You guys need to run for it," Joey replied.

"Joey!" Tea and Mokuba yelled.

"We're not leaving you here!" Tristan shouted.

"We don't need to separate! We can do this together!" Yugi added. But Joey shook his head.

Joey glanced back at Yugi. "Someone needs to stay here to slow that army down, and you need to find Kaiba's soul!" He argued. "Otherwise, all this crazy dark magic is going to get into our world, and I'm not going to let that happen!"

"Joey, what about you?" Tristan asked.

"I'll be fine!" Joey gave them a shit-eating grin. "No one can defeat Joey Wheeler! I'll get out of this like I always do!"

"Then I'm staying with you," Tristan argued.

Joey shook his head. "No Tristan - I need you to look out for the others in my place."

Aigami cut in. "We need to hurry up. If Joey is staying then the rest of us need to leave now and get as far as we can."

"Go, Yugi. I will be fine." Yugi looked at Joey's determined expression and nodded.

"When we find Kaiba-kun's soul, we will come back for you. We can meet you halfway," Yugi announced.

Joey gave him a thumbs-up. "Sounds like a plan." Aigami pushed them forward and they started walking away. Yugi took one last look back at Joey. His back cut through the darkness, a lone vigil against the vast army approaching. Meanwhile Yugi and his friends made their way through the impenetrable darkness, their footsteps illuminated only by the Duel Monsters army and Aigami's golden eyes.

Joey did not turn around until he could no longer sense the presence of his friends by his side. Then he turned and stared unflinchingly into the darkness.

"Thanks for your help Flame Swordsman," Joey patted his monster on the shoulder until it scattered into light. Then he took a deep breath, and raised up his hand.

"Red Eyes Black Dragon!" A column of light appeared around Joey and like a doorway, a gleaming black dragon materialized from its center with an earsplitting screech. The light dispersed and Red Eyes flew through the air around Joey before landing next to him. Joey jumped onto his back.

"Let's go! Red Eyes, Inferno Fire Blast!" With Joey on his back Red Eyes took off like a comet, soaring on the wind currents. Joey's heart sped up as they got closer and closer to the monster army. Red Eyes gave another shriek before unleashing a volley of fireballs from its mouth.

The monster army surged forward like the ocean waves and engulfed Joey and his dragon. Red Eyes fought valiantly as it tried to dodge oncoming attacks while keeping its master on his back. But it wasn't long before Joey could make out neither heads nor tails of the situation as he was blinded by the smoke and flashing lights. A stray shot hit Joey in the shoulder and he tumbled off his dragon.

 _A terrible lurch suddenly threatened to pull him off his feet. His companion grabbed his shirt just in time. He tried to keep going but his feet had turned to concrete, and his heart slowly filled with dread._

Joey's body bounced painfully off the ground. As he struggled to recover, he heard the faint sounds of his Red Eyes Black Dragon screeching over the roar of the monster army, and then he felt a pain like his heart was being torn out. Joey gasped, his mouth thrown open in a silent scream. Red Eyes disappeared, taking Joey's life energy with it. His fingers scrabbled on the ground helplessly from the pain. Meanwhile the army approached him, step by step.

Joey blinked through the pain and looked up at a familiar teal giant. It lowered its head and Joey stared into its single, unblinking eye. Joey weakly raised a hand to shake his finger at it.

"I'm trying to rescue your master," Joey scolded between breaths. "You wouldn't stand in my way, would you?"

 _Spots were beginning to appear before his eyes, and a terrible nauseousness had filled his head. He struggled to stay standing but quickly tumbled to the ground in a mess of limbs. He knew his companion was shouting his name and trying to keep him conscious, but he could no longer understand what his companion was saying. With every passing moment he could feel his strength leaving him; not permanently, but as if someone was borrowing it..._

Joey flung himself to the side as Hitotsume Giant slammed his fist down where Joey had been a second ago. Joey barely escaped danger but he landed once again on his side, which was bruising greatly from his last fall. He tried to stand up and failed, and ended up curling into a ball.

"Sorry Yugi," Joey muttered. The footsteps of the giant were loud enough to deafen him now. He could hear the monsters' roars and snarls, and screeching from the sky above. For a moment shadows fell over his head.

Blinding white light cut through the dark canvas above their heads. At first it was a few shards, and then great columns appeared, chasing away the darkness to the corners of the earth. The monsters screamed in agony and shielded their eyes. Joey turned onto his back and squinted at the source of this light.

A form descended through the clouds. Silver scales gleamed so brightly they looked white; wings so expansive they seemed to cover half the sky. As its domed head finally emerged as well, its serpentine tail whipped back and forth, impatient for blood.

Joey could only lie on the ground in amazement as Blue Eyes White Dragon opened its mouth and let out an earthshaking roar. The Duel Monsters turned away from Joey and began walking towards Blue Eyes, but it didn't give its opponents a chance to prepare. The dragon threw its head back and unleashed white light everywhere, searing the ground and smiting its opponents where they stood. Its power was so great pieces of the earth were ripped out from the impact.

Finally, the air grew quiet and Joey stood up. Blue Eyes White Dragon slowly flew towards him as Joey surveyed the area in amazement. Because the dragon had banished the darkness, Joey could see now that he was standing in an empty desert, with sand stretching all the way to the horizon. But other than sand, there was nothing else left.

The dragon landed before him. "Thank you Blue Eyes," Joey murmured. "Tell Kaiba we're going to rescue him soon" He gently patted it on the head and it took off into the sky before disappearing.

In another world, "Yugi" was kneeling in front of a comatose Kaiba and shaking him with increased urgency. Then Blue Eyes appeared. As it faded into nothing, the color slowly returned to Kaiba's face and he opened his eyes.

"Kaiba! Why did you collapse?" "Yugi" hoisted him once more onto his feet.

"I could sense...someone calling for me," Kaiba admitted. "Someone that needed my help. But I don't know what I did."

"You must have summoned Blue Eyes White Dragon," "Yugi" replied. "But you don't even have your own body right now. You could have died." Kaiba didn't answer; his eyelids began drooping as he once again slipped back into unconsciousness.

"We have to get you back to your body." Kaiba felt himself lifted off of his feet and onto someone's back.

"Otherwise...your time may run out."


End file.
